British Values

Promoting British Values.

Schools in England will be required by the government to actively promote fundamental British values to their pupils, both in lessons and in extracurricular activities, according to new documents published by the Department for Education.

The guidance significantly hardens the language used in setting out how schools teach what is known as spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development, replacing the previous language of “respect” for British values with the requirement to actively promote them.

The DfE document says pupils should be taught “how democracy and the law work in Britain, in contrast to other forms of government in other countries”, and advises teachers to “consider the role of extracurricular activity, including any run directly by pupils, in promoting fundamental British values”.